UPS to Eliminate Up to 30,000 Jobs in Major Cost-Cutting and Strategic Shift

UPS Announces Significant Workforce Reduction

United Parcel Service (UPS) has revealed plans to eliminate up to 30,000 operational positions in 2026, marking another substantial workforce reduction as the company continues a major cost-cutting and strategic realignment initiative. The announcement, made on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, follows a previous reduction of 48,000 jobs in 2025.

The job cuts are primarily expected to occur through attrition, meaning positions will not be refilled as employees leave, and through a second voluntary separation program offered to full-time drivers. UPS officials have stated that involuntary layoffs are not planned.

Strategic Pivot and Cost-Saving Measures

This significant reduction is a core component of UPS's strategy to achieve $3 billion in cost savings during 2026. This target builds upon $3.5 billion in savings realized in 2025. The company's Chief Financial Officer, Brian Dykes, indicated that the cuts would affect 'operational positions,' encompassing delivery and warehouse roles.

A key driver behind these changes is UPS's ongoing effort to reduce its reliance on lower-profit deliveries for its largest customer, Amazon. UPS CEO Carol Tomé stated, 'We're in the final six months of our Amazon accelerated glide down plan, and for the full year, 2026, we intend to glide down another million pieces per day, while continuing to reconfigure our network.' By the end of 2025, UPS had already reduced Amazon's volume in its network by approximately 1 million pieces per day.

Operational Restructuring and Automation

In addition to workforce reductions, UPS is implementing other operational changes to enhance efficiency and profitability. These measures include:

• The closure of 24 buildings in the first half of 2026, with further evaluations for additional closures later in the year.
• Increased deployment of automation across its network, including automated sorting and AI-driven routing.

These actions are part of a broader 'Better, Not Bigger' strategy championed by CEO Carol Tomé, aimed at focusing on more profitable shipments, such as healthcare, small business, and international parcels.

Union Response and Financial Outlook

The announcement has drawn criticism from labor organizations. Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters union, which represents many UPS workers, has previously expressed strong opposition to similar buyout programs, calling them 'disrespectful.'

Despite the significant restructuring, UPS projects 2026 revenue to be around $89.7 billion, compared to $88.7 billion reported in 2025. CEO Carol Tomé described 2026 as 'an inflection point in the execution of our strategy to deliver growth and sustained margin expansion' following the completion of the Amazon volume reduction.